Italian Open 2026: Iga Suatec shows signs of excellence as she beats Jessica Pegula in Rome

Suetek became known as the ‘Queen of Clay’, winning four titles between 2020 and 2024, as well as six WTA Tour events on red clay, at Roland Garros.

However, he lost his unbeaten streak on the surface last year – failing to win a clay-court Tour event before losing in the Paris semi-finals.

Suitek changed his playing style under previous coach Wim Fiset, who tried to implement a more aggressive approach from the baseline.

But he lost confidence in what they were trying to achieve and quickly went to rags when the matches started going against him.

It happened to go back to basics with Roig, who he wore Her brief stint ended with Britain’s Emma Radukanu.

Suatec played with the high intensity and relentlessness Roig demanded from the start against Pegula – but, crucially, he always looked steady in his shot-making.

Playing with more patience and a higher margin for error means he is well on his way to becoming a 2024 US Open finalist.

Pegula was below par on a surface he didn’t like, but the way Suetek refused to let his level drop was a sure sign of his growing assurance.

Swamping Pegular’s second serve with a deep return was another notable feature.

Tougher challenges will surely lie ahead in Rome – either Kazakh second seed Elena Rybakina or Ukrainian seventh seed Elina Svitolina await in the semi-finals – but the signs are starting to look ominous for the rest of the French Open challengers.

Meanwhile, Italian world number 10 Lorenzo Musetti became the latest top-ranked men’s player to withdraw from the French Open due to injury.

Musetti reached the Roland Garros semi-finals last year, but was ruled out by a thigh problem in Rome, joining Spain’s defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Britain’s Jack Draper.